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Elizabeth II HAS REIGNED in a world moving swiftly through political shifts, cultural change and technological advances. Traditional institutions of law, religion and politics have suffered loss of ...

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born at 17 Bruton Street, London on 21 April 1926. A happy childhood was spent with her parents, the Duke and Duchess of York, and younger sister Margaret Rose. ...

Edward VIII (1936) Edward, Prince of Wales, eldest son of George V and Queen Mary, was known to the family as 'David'. Charming and informal, he was a popular prince, touring Britain and the empire, ...

When Queen Victoria died in 1901, she left three generations of heirs. They, it was expected, would reign as monarchs of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In fact, the name survived only 16 years. In ...

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Wimbledon Park - see Wimbledon. The Park is to the west of the station. The station was opened as WIMBLEDON PARK by the London & South Western Railway for the use of their own and District Railway trains on 3 June 1889.

Wimbledon was recorded as Wunemannedunne c.950 and is derived from the personal name of the Saxon Winebeald and down, a hill' - means 'the hill where Winebeald lived', with his family. It has had various spellings in the course of time until recorded as Wimbledon in 1211.

Willesden Green was recorded as Wlllesdone Grene in 1254 and was formerly a distinct hamlet. Willesden itself was recorded as Willesdune in 939 and is derived from the Old English wiell, spring' and dun, 'hill', and means - hill of the spring', referring to a once nearby natural location. Willesden was the name adopted c.1840 by the London & Birmingham Railway from the earlier spelling of Wilsdon.

White City. The sports stadium was opened in 1908 to house part of the Franco-British Exhibition. The strikingly white finish of the buildings, and the exhibits in the main hall (all of which were white), earned the stadium its name.

Whitechapel takes its name from the white stone chapel of St Mary Matfelon, first built in 1329, then rebuilt three times, until bombed in 1940 and finally demolished in 1952. Today there is no trace of the church that gave its name to this district.

West Ruislip - see Ruislip. The adjacent main line station was opened by the Great Western & Great Central Joint Committee on 2 April 1906 as RUISLIP & ICKENHAM. It was re-named WEST RUISLIP on 30 June 1947. In preparation for the opening of the Underground station, the committee of the New Works Programme 1935/40 suggested naming it ICKENHAM GREEN. However, delayed by the Second World War, the Underground station was opened as WEST RUISLIP on 21 November 1948.

Westminster. By tradition the site of the Abbey was first known as Torneia (785) and means thorn island, being once a low lying islet regularly cut off from the mainland at high tide. Recorded as Westminster in 785, the name is derived from west and Old English mynster, monastery' or church', the west because it lies to the west of London. Westminster Abbey began as a small church attached to a Benedictine monastery, was rebuilt in the eleventh century and completed in 1388. The village of Westminster (a City since 1540) was joined up to London in the 18th century.